Beyond the Outermost
by ShadowBlaze524
Summary: Warriors meets Guardians of Ga'Hoole! The parliment sends a group of three owls to discover what lies in the world beyond the Outermost.
1. Chapter 1

**I started this story on my other account xSilverbreezex, but then I forgot all my log-in info, because I'm boss like that. xD **

**So anyways, I made a new account and I'm going to continue this story from here. Sorry about that guys. DX**

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The young elf owl Star flew quickly into the parliament hollow. When she got there two of her dearest friends were already perched and standing before Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, Digger and Coryn. Star knew the only reason why there'd only be the four owls in the chamber was because what they were going to tell Star and her friends was top secret, not for all ears.

Star settled onto the perch between her two friends, Oak and Webby, both males.

When King Coryn, a barn owl, started speaking all heads turned towards him to listen. "As you've probably figured out by now, we have a mission for you."

"We guessed," Webby answered boldly. Star would bet that even when he was the tiniest owlet, the spotted owl was the most outgoing creature in Ambala.

Coryn narrowed his eyes at Webby, although he didn't really look angry at all. "Anyways..." he continued, "We've heard that there creatures that live beyond, Beyond the Beyond, beyond the Outermost! If that makes any sense…"

Star understood, "You mean, you want us to journey farther than the Outermost?" she gasped.

"That's exactly what I'm saying young guardian," Coryn answered.

"Why?" Oak asked curiosity clear in his voice.

"The creatures we speak of are cats. To find them, it'll take great courage. For, not only are you traveling through the Outermost where those retched outcast wolves roam, but where you are going is to a place where the Others still live."

"I thought the Others were extinct!" Webby gasped.

"We thought so too before the research started," Coryn answered.

"But why would research start if you didn't know?" Webby challenged.

"A slipgizzle from the Beyond was traveling in the Outermost for coals of some sort when he spotted them," Twilight answered.

Webby nodded. He seemed satisfied to Star.

"We think the cats might help us in our war with the Pure Ones," Soren said.

"You really think so?" Star asked hopefully. If they could kill off the Pure Ones, the Owl Kingdoms could live peacefully again…

"Yes. We do," Soren replied.

"Do the world a favor," Digger, the burrowing owl, spoke up for the first time, "find those cats and see if they'll help us bring this war to an end."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two! xD**

**I actually started this a few weeks ago but just finished it tonight. This one is more from the viewpoint of Jayfeather, because he's the one who would learn about the Guardians since he's the one who can share with Rock. And he's my favorite Warrior Cat, so of course I was going to use him. XD **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! R&R! **

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A gray tabby tom awoke in his nest, opening his sightless blue eyes. He breathed in deeply the sweet scent of herbs was all around him. He padded out of the Medicine Den and out into the the ThunderClan camp. "Good morning Jayfeather!" the tom recognized the voice of his brother, Lionblaze.

"Hi," Jayfeather mewed in reply.

"What's up?" Lionblaze asked.

"Nothing really," the Medicine Cat responded.

"I can help you collect herbs today, if you want."

"I don't need help," Jayfeather replied getting a little irritated. He got up and headed out of the camp. Even though he could sense that his brother felt hurt, he ignored it. He was sick of every cat thinking that just because he was blind he couldn't do anything by himself. He was capable of getting herbs without some cat breathing down his neck!

Jayfeather continued through the territory until the scent of borage hit his nose. That was the herb he needed! He hurried down to the lake, the place where the scent was coming from and began plucking off the leaves.

Collecting the borage leaves didn't take as long as Jayfeather had thought it would. He figured he should have enough time to head down to the lake.

When he got to the shore he immediately went over to where he'd last hidden his stick. He pulled it out from where he'd left it under a tree root that had a small arch in it and sat down in front of it. He gently ran his paw over the strange marks the stick had etched into it.

Suddenly, and totally to his surprise, Rock's raspy voice sounded in his ears. _Strange birds are coming,_ he warned. Jayfeather knew this wasn't a prophecy, it was too direct.

_What birds?_ the blind tom demanded silently. Surely a bunch of birds would be easy enough to deal with, after all the clans fought amongst themselves all the time! Surely, with the Dark Forest planning to attack they had more to worry about than a bunch of mouse-brained birds!

_Owls,_ Rock answered directly.

The ThunderClan medicine cat thought for a moment. Owls would sometimes swoop down into camp and pick of a kit for a meal, but it didn't happen often. Was that why Rock had warned him, because the owls would kill clan kits? It didn't make much sense to Jayfeather, Rock had never warned him before of any such events. It was strange. The gray tabby tom narrowed his blind blue eyes suspiciously. _Why are you warning me of this? _He knew Rock, of all cats, should have a better reason than for the safety of kits.

_These owls can fight, _Rock murmured in his raspy old voice. Jayfeather sighed. Fighting owls? That was the last thing ThunderClan, or any of the clans, needed right now. If he were to tell any other cat about this, they'd think his brain was full of cloud fluff, and Jayfeather couldn't say he'd be able to blame them. He was sure how much he believed Rock, even though the ancient cat had never been wrong before.

Frustration grew inside the medicine cat. _How in the name of StarClan did owls learn how to fight?_

Jayfeather waited several moments, but this time, no reply came. He let out a quiet hiss of annoyance and shoved his stick back under the tree root where he usually kept it hidden.

After that he headed back in the direction of his clan's camp. He could tell by the scents around him that it was getting late, there was more prey scuffling in the bushes than there would be if the sun was still high in the sky and patrols were still out hunting.

Soon the familiar sounds of camp filled Jayfeather's ears. He padded down the ravine and into the camp. He could tell by the scents of fresh-kill that most of the cats had settled down to eat. The medicine cat walked straight through the camp to his den, without turning his sightless gaze to a single cat.

When he walked in the den he knew from the scent that Briarlight was there. "Hello Jayfeather," she greeted him cheerfully.

"Have you been doing your exercises?" he asked, ignoring her greeting.

"Yeah," she replied. "I put new moss in your nest too," she added.

Jayfeather's only reply was a quiet grunt, but he guessed Briarlight was used to it.

He settled down into his nest. To his surprise it did feel much more comfortable since the wounded she-cat had put new moss in. He settled his head on his paws and closed his eyes. He silently hoped that Spottedleaf, or even grumpy old Yellowfang would speak to him more about these fighting owls Rock had told him about.

When he finally fell asleep that night, his sleep was absolutely dreamless. Not haunted by the words of StarClan whispering to him as he'd hoped they would.


	3. Chapter 3

Star lighted down in a tree near. The elf owl let out a loud sigh of relief at the thought of being able to rest for a while. She and her friends had been flying all through the day. She couldn't believe her wings were still intact after the long flight!

Her friends, Webby and Oak, finally landed in the tree. "We're stopping here for the night?" Oak asked.

"Can we?" Star asked. She desperately hoped Oak and Webby would agree.

"Sure," Oak replied.

"I don't see why not, but we need a hollow," Webby added.

"Follow me, I saw one over here!" Star said. Reluctantly she stretched her wings and glided out of the tree. She flew into the hollow and rabidly flapped her wings a few times so that she could land. Once she had she hopped into the hollow to look for a place to sleep.

Inside there was a nest in the back, lined with feathers and moss. There were three perches in the wall of the hollow.

Suddenly Oak and Webby bustled into the hollow. "I call a perch!" Webby squawked and hurried up to one of the three perches. Star rolled her eyes, "There are enough perches for all of us," she informed.

"I'll take one too then," Oak responded and made his way up to a perch.

"I think I'm going to sleep in the nest," Star told them. She'd always preferred sleeping in nests rather than on perches. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't see why it mattered either, as long as she slept through the day it was all good to her.

She settled into the small feather-lined nest. It didn't feel like it'd been used before, it was too neat, no stray feathers or anything.

It took hardly any time that night for Star to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Jayfeather woke in the medicine den. Sunlight was filtering through the entrance making his tabby gray fur shimmer. He heaved himself out of his nest with a grunt of reluctance. He sat down by the nest for a few moments getting some of the loose moss from his pelt.

Once he was done, he padded out of the den and into the camp. A voice sounded behind him, "Jayfeather? Are you going to look for herbs?" the medicine cat could tell by her voice that it was Briarlight.

"Yes," he replied.

"What are you going to get?" Briarlight asked nosily.

"Marigold," Jayfeather answered flatly. He just hoped she didn't ask to accompany him. No one in the clan seemed to understand that even though he was blind, he could take care of himself!

The tabby medicine cat padded out of the camp before Briarlight could say anything. He knew it was a little rude, but he didn't care. He was about ready to do anything to show that he could do everything any other cat in ThunderClan could do!

* * *

Star and the other owls from the Great Ga'Hoole Tree were flying through the Outermost now. As they kept flying there were more and more trees showing up so they knew they were nearing the edge of it.

None, Star, Webby or Oak had ever been past the Beyond before, let alone the Outermost. Star was taking in every little thing she saw in the landscape below. Even the savage, scrawny wolves that she'd heard sometimes ate each other.

After a while the barren landscape of the Outermost had been left behind and they were flying through a dense forest. Star was getting anxious about the cats they were to find now. What if they were as savage as the wolves they'd seen? She doubted Coryn would send them off to find cats that acted like that, but Digger had said they didn't know much about the cats. Only that they lived in a place where the Others still ruled.

The little elf owl shuddered at the thought. She didn't have to only worry about the cats but there were the Others too!

* * *

Jayfeather was out looking for the marigold. He'd scented the flowers and was now following the scent to the herb.

Once he got to them he began picking the little stems. Marigold kept wounds from getting infected so he knew that when the Dark Forest attacked he'd need lots of it. Although he didn't know when the horrible cats of the Dark Forest were planning to attack something in him screamed that would be very soon. He had to be ready.

The sound of wings flapping overhead snapped him out of his thoughts. He sniffed the air wondering if it was possible to smell a bird, he doubted it. Just as he'd thought, he couldn't smell the bird in the air.

He picked up the marigold and raced back to camp. He didn't want to be the one caught out in the forest if one of the birds landed and was hungry.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the low writing quality in the last chapter. It was really rushed. DX**

**Anyways, this is chapter four, I think it's a lot better written than the last one but really it all depends on what you guys think. So I put a little bit of blood in here, I didn't describe it a whole lot but please, when you're writing your review tell me if you think I should move the rating up to T because of it. I don't think it's a big deal but you know, just in case. **

**Well, I hope you enjoy it! **

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Star and the others continued flying to the cats. They figured if they were lucky they might find them in the next couple of days. The only problem was they had no idea what these cats looked like. The young elf owl let out a small sigh of distress. Oak must have heard her because he turned his head in her direction.

_Of course he'd heard, he's a barn owl! _Star thought.

"Are you okay?" Oak asked. Concern showed in his black eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Star answered. To cover up her true worries she said, "Should we really be flying in the day, we could get mobbed by crows."

"The cats probably won't be nocturnal so we should get used to flying more in the day for now. If we get mobbed, we can fight back," Webby pointed out, finally contributing to the conversation.

"What if we're outnumbered?" Oak asked bitterly.

"Then we fly away," Webby answer as if it were the simplest thing ever.

Oak just sighed. Star guessed that he knew Webby was wrong but he didn't think it was worth arguing over.

A few hours of flying passed when Oak said, "I hear wing beats behind us."

"Great. Now we have to deal with a bunch of stupid crows!" Webby sighed in exasperation.

"How many do you think there are?" Star asked hoping it'd be only one or two.

"Sounds like three to me."

Webby let out a hefty sigh. Star wondered if he knew he'd been wrong about what he'd said earlier.

The owls started flying a little faster in hopes of escaping the crows, but it was in vain. The crows easily caught up to them. Star knew they'd have to fight the crows. She turned her head to see how fast the crows were coming. To her relief they had time to go pick some quick weapons. "Come on!" she called to Oak and Webby then she swooped down to the forest and tore a branch off a nearby tree. She looked back to see Oak and Webby doing the same thing. Then they flew back up again to actually fight the crows.

The crows were still flying at the owls. Their black eyes were gleaming with the heat of a soon-to-be battle and their black feathers shimmered in the sunlight. Star was the first of the owls the fly back at the crows. The sooner the owls started to fight the more surprised the crows would be.

Star felt the strong wing beats of the two male owls next to her. Right before the crows could make their strike the elf owl raised the branch she'd taken from the tree and wacked the crow with it. To her satisfaction a scratch showed on the crow's face right under its eye was where the blood dripped down its face and over its beak.

The crow looked angrier and more brutal than ever with the blood dripping from its eye. It flew at Star, its talons extended and ready to kill. The tiny owl dodged to the left so the crow's claws barely missed her wing tip. She raised the branch in the air to throw another blow at the crow but another crow flew into her side and bowled her over. She felt the strange sensation of falling and heard Oak, screaming her name from above. Next thing she knew she hit the ground with a thud and the world faded to black.

* * *

Jayfeather jumped back in surprise when he heard something fall to the ground with a great impact right in front of his paws. He sniffed the air and pricked his hears, half expecting another to fall down with it. When he was sure it wouldn't he crouched down to sniff the creature on the ground in front of him.

He prodded the thing with a forepaw. It had feathers! He poked it again but it didn't move. _If it has feathers it must be some sort of bird,_ the tabby medicine cat told himself. He sniffed it again but the scent didn't tell him much about what sort of bird it was.

He sat down next to the bird and briefly wondered if this was one of the birds StarClan had warned him about. It made sense that they'd show up suddenly, what didn't make sense was that the owls that Rock felt he should warn him about had fallen out of the sky.

A few moments past, Jayfeather still had no idea what he planned on doing about the bird that had fallen, when he heard something land beside him. "Who are you? And what are you?" the medicine cat asked aggressively.

"I'm Webby and this is Oak. If you had eyes that worked you'd know that we're owls," one of them answered.

"I don't have eyes that work! I'm blind you mouse-brain!" Jayfeather snarled.

"Sorry, ignore Webby. He never thinks about what he says," another voice said. The gray tom could only guess it was Oak.

"Errm… Okay…" Jayfeather answered awkwardly. He'd talked to his warrior ancestors in StarClan, Rock, even the Ancients, but never had he ever thought he'd find himself talking to a bunch of birds. If any other cat were to walk by and hear this they'd think he'd lost his mind!

"Star is waking up!" the voice Jayfeather remembered to be Webby exclaimed.

"Is Star the one that fell on me?" the tom asked hoping he sounded as annoyed as he felt.

"She fell on you?!" Oak asked in shock.

"Well, near me…"

Jayfeather heard a few strange sounding grunts and then a gasp of utter disbelief. "Is this a-," she was interrupted by Webby.

"I don't know! We haven't asked him yet!" the other owl snapped.

"Asked me what?!" Jayfeather hissed in annoyance. He hated that these birds were talking about him as if he weren't even there.

"We were sent here on a mission to find cats that live where the Others do," Oak began.

"What are 'Others'?"

"They're the ones who lived in castles and made paintings. They were furless creatures."

"You mean Twolegs?" Jayfeather asked simply.

"I guess. If that's what you call them…"

"Anyways…" Oak continued to explain how Coryn, Soren, Digger, Twilight and Gylfie had sent them off to find the cats. "We need to know if you're a cat because that would mean that we've succeeded in finding what we're looking for."

Reluctantly, the medicine cat answered, "Yes. I'm one of the cats you've been looking for. My name is Jayfeather and I'm the medicine cat of ThunderClan."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much for all the positive reviews guys! I've never thought of myself as the best author, I'm more of a visual artist than a literate one.**

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"I'm glad to see that you could make it, Nyra," a dark brown tabby tom dipped his head. When he looked up again his amber eyes were blazing with excitement.

"You better keep your promise to me!" a huge barn owl with a massive face that looked like the moon snapped.

"Of course, as long as _you _hold up your end of the bargain as well," the tabby agreed.

"I know Tigerstar," the owl replied in exasperation.

The tabby nodded. "Follow me, I'll show you what warriors I have to offer." With that, he led the way through the murky forest with the moon-faced owl flying slowly behind him.

They reached a lighter part of the forest where cats appeared to be training together. As Nyra looked around she saw that some of the cats were transparent. She continued looking and saw one that looked like it was about to fade away all together. The faded cat seemed to have seen her staring at it because it gave her a sharp glare with light amber eyes.

"This is where we train our apprentices," Tigerstar explained.

The tabby gazed down at the training cats, pride was clear in his amber eyes. His son, Hawkfrost was training two ThunderClan cats, Ivypool and Blossomfall. Mapleshade was sitting near them watching closely.

"Will these cats be able to help us get rid of the Guardians?" Nyra asked coldly.

"I can guarantee it!" Tigerstar assured her. "Would you like a closer look at the training?" he offered.

"No. I'll trust your word. If you're lying, I know you'll regret it," she replied and lifted into the air. Tigerstar let out a sigh and let her to back to her own world.

* * *

"What do you want from us?" Jayfeather asked suspiciously.

"We need your help to fight against the Pure Ones. They want to defeat the Guardians and rule the entire world. It may sounds like this won't affect you but in the end it will," the elf owl answered quietly.

The medicine cat let out a snort of disbelief, "Sounds like the Dark Forest," he commented.

"What in Glaux's name is the Dark Forest?" Webby asked ungraciously.

"It's where traitorous cats go for an afterlife," Jayfeather attempted to explain, "They're training loyal clan cats by telling them they're helping them become better warriors for their clans. Really, they're being trained against their clans. The Dark Forest is training cats from the clans to bring them into battle against their own kind."

"That's awful," Star breathed.

"Do you have some sort of ruler we could speak with, a king or a queen perhaps?" the light colored barn-owl asked.

"We have a leader, his name is Firestar," the ThunderClan medicine cat replied, "Come on, I'll take you back to camp to meet with him." He whisked around and led the birds back to camp.

_For StarClan's sake,_ he thought bitterly, _The clan will think I'm crazy! Not only am I talking to a bunch of mouse-brained birds; I'm talking to mouse-brained birds who need our help! _Suddenly another thought struck him, these were obviously the owls that Rock had been referring to, the one's that could fight. Maybe they could propose a deal. ThunderClan would help them with these 'Pure Ones' then they'd have to help the clans stop the Dark Forest.

Jayfeather soon felt flattened grass under his paws as he approached the ravine that would lead into the camp. When he reached the ravine he waited until he heard the owls land and began walking behind him before padding into camp.

He walked straight over to the Highledge, Firestar's den was right above it so the owls could talk to him there. He climbed up the rocks to it. He assumed to owls flew because by the time he could up they were already there.

"Firestar," the gray tabby tom called softly into the darkness of the leader's den.

"Come in," the welcoming voice of the ThunderClan leader replied.

With a nervous sigh Jayfeather led the birds into the den.

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**This chapter is a little short... Sorry. ;A;**


	6. Chapter 6

**I haven't updated in forever. xD Sorry for those of you who care. **

**Soo... Yeah... I really don't have much else to say... Umm... Enjoy, read and review... You know the drill... xD**

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**-Chapter Six-**

The Guardians followed Jayfeather into the leader's den. Curiosity pricked at Star as she left the sunlight and entered the gloomy den through the curtain of lichen. When they entered the den Star looked around, taking in as much of the scene as she could. The den didn't have any decorations, like the hollows at the Great Tree did. The only thing in the den at all was a small nest made of nothing but moss in the center of the den. A flame-colored ginger cat with a muzzle that was graying with age was sitting near the mossy nest.

"What brings you here Jayfeather?" the ginger cat asked, by its voice, Star figured it must be a male. The cat's green eyes flashed with wonder when he spotted the owls. _I guess it must be pretty strange for owls to be here, _the elf owl decided silently.

"I found these birds out in the forest," the gray tom addressed his leader, "They've been sent here by others like them. I guess they're here to tell you why," Jayfeather shrugged as he finished speaking.

The cat with fur like fire turned his questioning green gaze over to the owls. Star felt fear course through her. What if the leader sent them away? "Well, even if you're not here to tell me why you're here, I expect an answer," he meowed.

Naturally, Webby was the one to speak up. "We're here because the monarch of the Great Tree sent us. They'd been told of you and your clans. We were sent to see if it was all true, for we may need your help in the near future."

To Star's dismay the orange tom shook his head. "I'm sorry but, we can't help you," he meowed. "The clans have our own problems right now!" he meowed with a glance at Jayfeather. _Jayfeather must know about these problems! _Star thought. She wondered if she could get him to tell her what it was.

Jayfeather nodded, clearly agreeing with his leader. "Yes Firestar," he meowed. _So that's his name, _the elf owl figured.

The medicine cat left the den with the three disappointed owls trailing behind him. "So that's it?" Webby snapped once they were out of the den. "We didn't come all this way to be told no!"

"Too bad, that's the answer you got and that's the answer you're keeping," Jayfeather hissed. He leaped down from the ledge causing a few loose pebbles roll down after him. All three owls raised their wings and followed him down.

"What is this problem of yours anyway?" Star asked.

"It doesn't matter! It doesn't affect you!" the medicine cat snarled.

"If it's making it so that you can't help us, then yes. It does, in fact, affect us!" Webby argued.

Jayfeather let out a sigh of exasperation. Star felt satisfaction pierce through her like a thorn when she realized he was going to tell them.

"The Dark Forest," he began, "They've been training cats from the clans to fight. They want to destroy StarClan, our warrior ancestors, so that they will rule the clans and forge a new Warrior Code."

"What's the 'Warrior Code'?" Oak asked. Star spotted a spark of interest in his black eyes.

"It's the code of laws our clans live by. As a medicine cat I'm outside the code. Medicine cats have a separate code, making us more social among cats from the other clans," Jayfeather explained.

"I want to know more about this 'Dark Forest'!" Webby announced.

Jayfeather shot a glare at Webby. Star wondered how he did it, being blind and all.

"The Dark Forest is where traitors and murderers go after they die," he continued, "Instead of the luxury of StarClan they get a gloomy forest full of fog and dirty rivers. They want to get revenge over the clans who exiled them and over StarClan for banishing them to the Dark Forest. I'd guess they'll take over StarClan's skies if they win."

"That's awful!" Star breathed.

"That's why we can't help you," Jayfeather finished, "So bye! Go tell your little 'monarch' all _that_. There is no reason for us to abandon our own problems to help you!" Star felt a prick of disappointment; she had to get the help required. The Pure Ones had to be defeated!

"I guess we'd better go then," Star sighed turning to Webby and Oak, "Come on guys." She lifted off into the sky and out of the ThunderClan camp. She hovered in the air waiting for her two friends to fly off after her, but they didn't. With a sigh she flew back down. "What are we waiting for?" she asked irritably.

"We've come so far. How do you think the parliament will react if we come in with no information?" Oak asked. Star had to admit, he had a point. She just didn't want to deal with the fact that they'd failed. She didn't see any point in staying now that they'd been turned away.

"What's the point?" she argued after the medicine cat had wandered off back to his den. "There's nothing more to gain in staying here! It's a failed mission."

"It's not a failure. We've had a bit of a struggle, so what? Even if they never do agree to help us, we could always get research. This information could be valuable to us in the future. Star, have you even considered the possibilities? We're in a place where the Othersstill live! Does that mean nothing? There's so much we can do here, so much to discover!" Oak said.

"Alright," Star agreed with a sigh, "I'll stay with you two for a while longer. Who knows, we might even be able to convince the cats here to help us."

Oak and Webby both nodded with excitement. Star looked around the camp, what if some cat had heard and gotten angry that she and her friends were so intent on trying to convince their leader to change his mind. When she did though, it didn't seem as though any cat were listening. Most of them were just casting weird glances at the owls. Some of them even looked afraid. Star noticed that all the cat-owlets were tucked away in one of the most secure dens. She doubted any cat heard. They all seemed too worried about the owls' presence in general. _Great Glaux… What kind of world have we entered?_

* * *

Jayfeather tossed and turned while trying to sleep in his moss-filled nest that night. No matter how many different positions he tried he couldn't get comfortable. A part of him wished that Firestar had decided to help the birds, another was glad he didn't. He didn't know which side of his inner conflict he should be true too.

He shifted once again. Maybe if he were to get to sleep, Rock would come. Surely the ancient cat would know what the medicine cat had to do?

With a snort of disgust Jayfeather got up out of his nest. _I'm never going to get to sleep at this rate! _He thought bitterly. He padded out of the medicine den at headed out of camp. He marched right over to the entrance; he could tell by scent that Cloudtail was guarding the camp. As he approached he heard the warrior's mew, "Hey, where you going Jayfeather?"

"On a walk," the blind gray tomcat replied.

"Can't sleep?" Cloudtail assumed.

"Nope," Jayfeather growled. He was sure to make his annoyance clear to the white warrior. However, if Cloudtail heard it, he ignored it.

"Alright, see you later!" he meowed.

Jayfeather didn't reply. It wasn't worth snapping at Cloudtail again. He continued out of the camp, using the path he remembered so clearly by nothing but the feeling of it under his paws. He was headed towards the lake, to see the stick he'd found as an apprentice. The stick that connected him to the Ancients, and more importantly, Rock.

When Jayfeather finally reached the lake shore he went straight over to the tree root where he had the stick hidden. He pulled it out from under the root and lay down beside it. _Rock, what am I supposed to do about these mouse-brained birds? _He wondered silently.

He waited a few moments for a reply. He fidgeted with his paws for a while when nothing happened.

"Rock, where are you?" he asked aloud in annoyance.

He let out a hiss and threw the stick aside. If Rock wasn't going to help him, he should just let Firestar go on with his decision. What could the medicine cat do to defy it respectfully anyway?

Jayfeather stomped away from the scene, leaving the lake behind him. StarClan wouldn't do anything for him! They'd been useless since the Dark Forest began their invasion!

It wasn't until he reached the camp entrance and saw Cloudtail again that Jayfeather realized that he'd completely forgotten to put the stick back under the tree root where he always kept it to make sure the lake didn't wash it away.


	7. Chapter 7

**I have noticed my lack of reviews lately. Please, when you read review. Critique my stories, tear them up! I want to improve! **

**Please R&R. Help me to improve! **

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**-Chapter Seven-**

Jayfeather awoke in a misty forest. He knew immediately that he was dreaming because, of course, he could see. He could always see in his dreams, it was part of the power given to him by some force outside of StarClan.

Jayfeather knew that in the Dark Forest clan cats were being trained, what he didn't realize were that there were so many! He saw cats from his own clan! One's he'd never expected to be tricked into the Dark Forest training! How he wished that he could go tell them the truth about this training right now, and see which cats were really traitors, but he knew that would have to wait. He couldn't reveal that he was here.

The medicine cat looked around the misty, grimy forest. He couldn't believe that any cat would want to train here, it was awful! Jayfeather didn't see any water that was clear and looked drinkable and all the trees were black and lifeless, he didn't see any that even looked on the fringes of being alive. None had leaves, just branches covered in tiny twigs. Jayfeather continued through the forest, suddenly determined to find his to the StarClan forests. If a Dark Forest warrior had summoned him here, wouldn't they have come to get him already? As he continued looking around he noticed that there wasn't any prey scurrying about either, the StarClan forests were always rich in prey, prey that would suit all clans perfectly, not even just one!

The gray tabby tom felt a strong determination to go to StarClan and talk to Spottedleaf, Bluestar, or even annoying old Yellowfang. Any StarClan cat would be better than these of the Dark Forest.

Jayfeather glanced from side-to-side looking for something. He didn't even know what! Perhaps a lightened path where the clouds have parted? Yeah right! _My own desperation to get out of here is pathetic! _The tabby thought bitterly, _I need to just figure out why I'm here and leave. I hate this StarClan forsaken place! _

Suddenly, a massive, dark colored tabby tom appeared in front of him. He held his breath; just to be sure he didn't alert the tom. Jayfeather noticed there was something pure white in color next to the cat. The Dark Forest warrior, which he figured to be either Tigerstar or Hawkfrost, appeared to be talking to it. Ever so slowly, and carefully, as to stay quiet, Jayfeather inched towards them. He wanted to make out what they were saying.

"So do we have a deal?" the cat asked, Jayfeather recognized the voice and was able to confirm that it was Tigerstar.

"I believe we do," the white creature replied. Jayfeather peered at it through the twiggy trees and lifeless grass. It appeared to have feathers and it had wings folded neatly at its side. It was an owl, the medicine cat could feel that the ones he'd found the other day had any relation to this one. It sure would explain why Star, Oak and Webby had been so intent on getting help from the clans over it. Anyone or anything that was making deals with Tigerstar needed to be feared. If this was then both, the clans and the birds would need all the help they could get.

_But what is the deal?! _Jayfeather wondered. He dug his claws into the ground in frustration. If he could find out what this deal was that Tigerstar had made with this mouse-brained bird then he'd be able to tell Lionblaze and Dovewing. That would give the clans more of an advantage against the Dark Forest. They'd know more of what to expect and what they were up against, maybe. It was hard to determine since the medicine cat didn't actually know anything about this deal. Just that a very bad cat had been involved in it.

What if Tigerstar had tricked the owl into making a deal? It seemed like something the tabby warrior would try to pull, but would the bird actually believe him? All the evidence needed to prove that Tigerstar was up to no good was right here in their surroundings. _No, _Jayfeather decided, _this bird is willingly doing something terribly wrong. They both want to destroy something, and they're both will go to extremes to make sure it's destroyed. I know Tigerstar wants the clans gone, but what could it be with the owl? _

Jayfeather didn't know, but he'd find out. He'd be sure of it!

* * *

Of course right as Jayfeather had intended to find out everything, he'd woken up for real, this time, in the medicine den. "You've got to be kidding!" he snarled out loud. The usual blackness of his blindness had returned.

"I didn't say anything," a soft voice answered. Jayfeather recognized it as Briarlight. _I'll never get used to sharing my den with her, _he thought barely able to keep in the hiss that was rising in his throat.

Instead of hissing at her, he just sighed. "It's not you, Briarlight…"

Of course, Briarlight was surprised he didn't just hiss at her like he usually did. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine!" Jayfeather snapped at her. His patience had worn.

The medicine cat's anger increased when he sensed happiness replacing the worry that was buzzing from the crippled she-cat. "Good," she mewed.

Jayfeather just rolled his eyes and walked out of the den before Briarlight asked some stupid question like, if he wanted to talk about it, or something. He _did _want to talk about it, but only to Lionblaze and Dovewing. No other cats could know until he found out more. No one _needed _to know until he found out more!

The gray tomcat sniffed the air and pricked his ears for any signs of his brother or Dovewing in camp. He found that Lionblaze was talking to Dovewing nearby the apprentices den. The two young warriors Dovewing and Ivypool had to sleep in the apprentices den because of the warriors' den small capacity. Jayfeather was glad he had his den to himself; well except for Briarlight, but if he were to be honest with himself, Graystripe's daughter was really no trouble!

Jayfeather padded up to Lionblaze and Dovewing. "I need to talk to you two in my den, it's important!" he meowed. He sensed a sudden alertness heat both warriors' pelts as the followed him across the camp to the medicine den.

When they entered, Briarlight was still there. "Can you please go for a few moments; I need to speak to these two. It would do you some good to get the exercise on your forelegs anyway," he meowed to her.

"Of course, Jayfeather!" the warrior replied and Jayfeather listened to her drag herself across the den and out.

"Poor Briarlight," the medicine cat heard Dovewing mutter. He agreed with her. Briarlight should be out on patrols, hunting and fighting enemy cats! Not being cooped up in the medicine den all the time. He knew she didn't want that.

Anyway, it was time for him to cut to the chase. "I had a dream in the Dark Forest last night," he began knowing right away this would lead to questions.

"The Dark Forest?" Lionblaze asked in shock, "Did they start training you like they do Ivypool?"

"No."

"What happened then?"

"If you'd be quiet and listen to me you'd find out!" he snapped wanting to get through the story quickly before some cat came in with something stupid like a thorn stuck in their paw. Jayfeather needed to conserve his supplies for the final battle with the Dark Forest, not on silly things like thorns!

"Anyways… I saw Tigerstar; he was talking to an owl, a white one," Jayfeather said, "They were talking about some sort of deal that had been made."

"What kind of deal?" Dovewing asked curiously.

"I don't know… I showed up on time for them to confirm the deal, I didn't hear what it was. I intend to find out though!"

"You'll tell us when you find out won't you?" Lionblaze asked.

"Of course!" the medicine cat hissed his reply.

Lionblaze, who'd learned not to be bothered by his brother's grouchiness just shrugged and walked out of the den with Dovewing behind him, leaving Jayfeather alone to wallow around in his thoughts.

_Rock, hearing you tell me something about this would be really helpful right now, _Rock rarely talked to Jayfeather at random times like this unless the medicine cat was with the stick that connected him to the ancients. Maybe he was go to it, he needed to speak with Rock.

_No. If I did go, Rock would just be silent. He hasn't exactly been talkative lately. _

Suddenly it occurred to him. The owls! All he had to do was ask Star, Oak and Webby if they knew about the white owl! They'd tell him! Were they still in the territory? Wait… Were they still in the camp? Jayfeather hadn't really paid any attention to if they were there earlier. He was more intent on telling Lionblaze and Dovewing the news! Excitement filled his thoughts as Jayfeather raced out of the medicine den to find the owls.

* * *

**Just like I said at the beginning, please review! I want to improve! Help me by reviewing with critiques or just by telling me what you think of the story so far! **

**Also, if any of you are also Seekers fans, please check out my new Seekers fanfic! It's about Taqqiq and what happened to him between of Nisa's death and meeting Kallik again at Great Bear Lake! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry about how late this reply came! I started writing it a really long time ago, but I stopped for a while because I never felt like getting on this site and posting. I just finished it though, and I hope this chapter shows at least a little improvement from the others. Thanks so much for all the positive reviews. I love to see them! xD **

**Fluffy Bunnycat, I saw your review, and there are two things I wanted to let you know about. [I promise I'm not angry, I just thought this deserved an explanation! xD] The first one is that I know my spelling is off, but it's really just typos. I never bother to edit my fanfics because I just don't have that type of dedication, so they still contain all the typos from when I first typed them up. I type really fast. I go over 100 words per minute with 80% accuracy according to those online tests. So that's all I have to say on spelling... **

**What you said about the characters being out of date was the part I was really interested in, and I was glad someone noticed. I have an explanation for that too. If you've read Warriors: Omen of the Stars: The Fourth Apprentice, you would notice that a Warriors aspect of this fanfic is out of date too. [I'm so sorry for any spoilers here.] Jayfeather broke his stick in that book. You see, the idea of this fanfic was to sort of twist together and combine the endings of both these two series. Warriors has a new book coming out now, but that one goes back in time. **

**I tried to PM you all this, but you have them blocked, so I thought this was the best way to tell you. **

* * *

**-Chapter Eight-**

So Jayfeather went onward to find the three owls that had oddly come to ThunderClan. He figured they must have gone back to the camp. He figured they were still begging for the clan's help. He looked there first, but didn't see them. He decided to go ahead and look out in the forest. That would make sense too. The owls did still want the clan's help as far as he knew, but why would they want to spend all their time in the camp with cats rather than keep to their own species.

As he walked through the forest Jayfeather looked up in every tree he passed in case one of the owls he'd met before was present there. It took a little longer than he'd anticipated, but he eventually saw Webby in a nearby tree. The spotted owl seemed to be grooming in a way.

"Hey!" Jayfeather called to him. Webby looked down at the gray tabby cat, but didn't say anything. Instead of waiting for Webby to reply, which obviously wasn't going to happen, Jayfeather just continued, "I have a question for you, and maybe even a deal." At that statement Webby actually looked interested.

"A question?" he asked. Jayfeather replied with a simple nod. "Alright, what's this question of yours?" Webby asked. Star and Oak had already heard Webby talking to someone, and had joined Webby on the branch. All three owls looked rather excited at the prospect of the clans maybe helping them.

Of course the only way for Jayfeather to ask his question was to go into an explanation of what he'd seen in the Dark Forest, and that required an explanation of what the Dark Forest was. So that's what he did. He explained the Dark Forest, and how cats who had made horrible choices in life went there instead of to StarClan. After he explained that he went into the story of what happened. He explained what he'd seen. He described the scene with Tigerstar and the white owl. He ended this explanation with his question, "Do you know who that owl was?"

It was Oak who actually answered his question. "Yes. That sounds like Nyra to me, but if the Dark Forest is a place of the dead then does that mean Nyra is? I hadn't heard of her dying?"

"Not necessarily," Jayfeather meowed. "Tigerstar has brought many clan cats to the Dark Forest through dreams to train. None of those cats have died. It's possible he could have done the same with an owl."

"Oh… That makes sense… Ina really weird way…" Oak responded.

"It's this deal part I want to know about now!" Star said. "What is it? You said there might be a deal!"

Jayfeather nodded. He was a little annoyed about this tiny owl's way of asking, but he tried not to show it with anything more than a flick of his ear. "It sounds like this deal is about to become a reality, lucky for you," he replied, " If Tigerstar and Nyra have teamed up then that means we need your help just as much as you need our help. Imagine if we were to team up in this. You Guardians with us Clans to fight one battle rather than two separate ones."

"That makes sense…" Oak commented thoughtfully. "It'd be better for only one fight than two, and we're stronger as a whole."

"So are they," Jayfeather warned. "We'll be evenly matched by the Dark Forest and Nyra. Besides, I already told you that Tigerstar has been training clan cats in the Dark Forest. For the clans a traitor could come from anywhere because of Tigerstar's tricks."

It didn't take much after that for the owls to agree. Jayfeather figured it must have been an obvious choice. They could join with the clans and help them while helping themselves, or they could leave the clans to fight their own battle, while they go fight their own only to be outmatched because of the Dark Forest and Pure Ones new alliance. Now the only thing they needed to do was bring this idea to Firestar.

* * *

Star, Oak, and Webby had already flown to the top of the High Ledge while Jayfeather was still climbing up. Once he'd made it he called softly into the den, "Firestar?"

"Come in," came the reply from inside the den. Jayfeather then lead the tree birds into the den. "What is it?" he asked when the medicine cat came in. When the birds followed he added, "Have you figured anything out about this?"

Jayfeather nodded. "I think it would be best for us to help them." He was careful not to mention the Dark Forest. It still wasn't Firestar's time to know about that.

"Why is that?" Firestar asked. Jayfeather had known Firestar would want an explanation, so he'd gotten one prepared that wasn't a lie, but just not the whole truth.

"I've seen the leader of their enemies," Jayfeather told him, "It seems to me that their enemies are becoming our enemies. If that happens we'd be better off helping them to defend ourselves and fight one battle rather than two separate ones."

Firestar nodded, and Jayfeather knew that even with his incomplete explanation Firestar found it reasonable. "So be it then," he replied.

Jayfeather turned to the owls with a warning glance hoping that would be enough for them to realize telling Firestar the truth wasn't the best thing to do right now. They didn't say anything, so it was decided.


	9. Chapter 9

**It seems I've forced you beings to wait for this for long enough, and I finished it a few minutes ago for you.**

**Sorry about how long it took. I forgot about this for a while there... xD**

**Oh, and I changed my screen name while I was "gone" I guess you could say... Yeah. I made it match up to my deviantART and my Official Warriors Forums screen names now. **

**So you now... Review... Or whatever... xD**

* * *

**-Chapter Nine-**

Ever since Jayfeather had made his deal with the owls the clan had been completely absorbed in battle preparations. Firestar had asked him to take the guardians to the other clans and see if they'd agree to join up with ThunderClan and the Guardians of Ga'Hoole to fight this battle. Jayfeather didn't see any way for them to refuse since the Dark Forest would be attacking all four clans, but he didn't argue. Neither he, nor the owls, needed Firestar to change his mind on their little deal.

The first clan they headed towards was WindClan. Onestar wouldn't be an easy leader to convince to fight on the side of ThunderClan. Jayfeather remembered stories about how Onestar and Firestar used to be close friends. Ever since he'd actually become leader of the clan Onestar had ignored their past friendship as if it hadn't ever happened. Jayfeather explained this to the owls, and they didn't seem to understand how Onestar could have done such a thing. Jayfeather knew that it was because Onestar was constantly determined to make WindClan seem stronger than it was, but he kept his thoughts to himself as he continued to the WindClan camp.

Since he was medicine cat Jayfeather didn't have to worry about crossing the border as much as a warrior would. Of course the WindClan cats would be suspicious of the ThunderClan medicine cat having crossed into their territory and would escort him to their camp themselves, but if an actual warrior were to have gone it would have led to a fight. Jayfeather figured that was the main reason Firestar sent him instead of Brambleclaw.

It wasn't until they were mere fox-lengths away from the camp that Jayfeather and the owls were found by any WindClan cats. He figured, though he couldn't see them that their fur was bristling and their claws were unsheathed. "What are _you _doing here?" a warrior Jayfeather recognized, much to his dismay, to be Breezepelt.

"I just wish to speak with Onestar," Jayfeather replied. He could sense how surprised Star, Webby, and Oak were at the fact that the cats from the other clans who all lived so close to each other were so aggressive towards each other. He decided he'd have to explain it to them later.

"Whatever you want to say to Onestar will have to be said to _me _first!" Breezepelt snarled.

"It doesn't concern you yet," Jayfeather growled his reply, though it was a bit untrue. A battle so huge concerned every cat, no matter how far from coming. He didn't say any of that, of course, he just fixed Breezepelt with a cold, blind gaze. He could sense where Breezepelt was, well, mostly because the warrior seemed to have an inability to keep his mouth shut.

"_Yet_," Breezepelt's voice was full of disbelief at the thought of something affecting him, but not at this very moment. He acted like it was something he'd never heard of before. However, Jayfeather guessed that Breezepelt of all cats was probably already completely aware of the upcoming battle. He replied with little more than a nod.

Breezepelt let out another snarl, but lead Jayfeather into the WindClan camp anyway. There wasn't much shelter in the camp, as WindClan cats preferred to sleep outside where they were the closest to their warrior ancestors in the stars above their heads at night. Jayfeather didn't think he'd be able to stand not sleeping in the medicine den, but he didn't criticize the WindClan cats out loud. After all, they probably thought his clan was crazy for sleeping in dens. Anyway, the only dens in the camp were the elders' den, leader's den, and medicine den. There were some places to shelter around the camp in case it rained, but no real dens.

It was the leader's den that Breezepelt lead Jayfeather who lead the owls into. "And why are there birds with you?" Breezepelt asked before letting him see Onestar.

Jayfeather wasn't surprised by the question, but rather surprised that Breezepelt hadn't asked earlier. "They're part of why I need to talk to Onestar," is all he said as his reply. Breezepelt snorted in irritation and moved aside to let Jayfeather and the owls into the den.

Jayfeather explained to Onestar nothing more than he had with his own leader. He didn't see any reason to leave anything out to Onestar, and certainly nothing to add in which Firestar didn't know about yet. To his surprise Onestar seemed pretty open about joining forces with ThunderClan to face this common threat. Now ThunderClan and WindClan just had to hope that the other two clans agreed.

* * *

The next stop was RiverClan. Mistystar was a leader that Jayfeather was sure would agree almost instantly, and he was right. All he had to do was explain what was going on, the reason why the owls were with him, that their enemies were also the clans, and that it would be better to fight one big battle than many smaller ones. Mistystar agreed with no problem, and sent Jayfeather off without a word of complaint, although he could tell she was a little nervous about the upcoming war.

The ShadowClan leader, Blackstar, was the hardest to convince. ShadowClan was a very stand-alone clan compared to the others. ShadowClan cats always preferred to keep to themselves and were never the first to jump to another clan's defense. Jayfeather even had to bring in the point that the enemies would attack all four clans whether ShadowClan stood with the other three or not. Although it was reluctant the ShadowClan leader finally agreed to join with their cause and fight this battle alongside WindClan, RiverClan, and ThunderClan in a battle to the finish.


End file.
